Some ArtPrize Questions Courtesy of The Grand Rapids Press
In Sunday’s Grand Rapids Press, Meijer Gardens curator Joseph Becherer (who will be curating the ArtPrize exhibits at the Gardens) enthuses about the event: “Can you feel the excitement?” he asks. “The energy?” Yes, we definitely feel the mosquito-like buzz, augmented by the constant local media coverage—as well as the sound of merchants and restaurateurs oiling the draws of their cash registers.
Becherer goes on to state that ArtPrize is a “discussion” and gives the readers some benchmark questions to ask themselves. So, in the case of economy, here are his questions and my answers. I’m offering them in advance, as I’m sure they will remain unchanged from my 2009 and 2010 answers.
The What. “What am I looking at?” Becherer advises we ask. “…What need might creating [this piece] fulfill for the artist?…What about it might attract or deter others? What value does it hold for you?”
Well, Joe. If I’m at ArtPrize, I could be looking at a piece that was specifically created to win a bucketload of cash. The need that caused the artist to create it was so that he/she could retire and actually do art with some meaning for the rest of his or her life.
What could deter others about the piece is wondering, “Did this piece actually come from a legitimate artistic vision? Does someone just suddenly dream that a giant Loch Ness monster or gigantic aluminum flowers might have a deep message about social justice, a personal trauma, childhood memory, or some other meaningful content? Or did they just think, ‘What’s the biggest and most attention-getting thing I can create for this circus?’”
Just having to worry about that issue means that many of the pieces automatically hold less value for me.
The How. “How was this object made? How does it hold together visually?…How does it compare with other art in your memory bank?”
Hmm. How the object was made, and how it holds together physically always seems to me to be a bigger concern at ArtPrize. As in, “Is that giant table and chair going to fall on my head?” As for how something holds together visually, since ArtPrize could be renamed “Battle of the Titanic Art Pieces Vying for Public Attention,” scale issues come to my mind. Is the Steam Pig actually larger than that pencil drawing of life-sized soldiers? Does that mean it will win? Did anyone notice those exquisite Japanese-style prints in the bank building? Nah. They were only 10” by 12”. They don’t have a chance.
As for how this all compares with other art in my “memory bank,” how do thousands of paper airplanes dumped off a building in a Midwestern city compare with the time I saw the Winged Victory in the Louvre? I really don’t think you want me to answer that question, Joe.
The Why. “This is a tough one. Ask yourself why this work was made from the perspective of the creator, the audience—and you.”
The answer: Why, Joe, is this a tough question? It was potentially made by the artist, as I mentioned before, because there is serious money involved. Why do people buy lottery tickets? Is that an artistic expression too?
The work could have been created after that artist captured one of the primo spots for ArtPrize public viewing, because frankly, if you’re not in the City Center, you’re toast. Location, location, location.
From the perspective of the majority of Grand Rapidians, the bigger, the better. We’re not, apparently, a very subtle population. Is it big and funny—like a monster pig or sea creature? Check: we love it. Does it have a heart-warming theme—like a giant penny for Mommy? Ahhh, cute….we love it. Does it display some technique we can’t figure out, like a sculpture made in shifting sand? Cool: we vote for that. But only if we get to see it while walking around the Monroe/pedestrian bridge area, eating a hot dog.
After all, we do have our standards.
And, from my perspective, why might this all be happening? That’s easy, too. According to the theory of the “creative class,” the next wave of big business profits are going to come from making city interiors appealing to so-called creative types so they’ll live there…and spend money there. The toehold is not what developers term gentrification (God forbid we ever use that word!) but “renewal.”
The DeVos family appears to know that the pyramid scheme model is dying; it’s only really working now in Third World countries, where people haven’t yet been stripped of all their available cash and still believe that American-style capitalism is going to make them rich…as opposed to just making the DeVos family richer.
So they’re branching out. Young Rick has marched to the front lines of the art world to start prepping the “creative class” strategy into a new cash cow for his family. He’s even offering his thoughts on “art entrepreneurship.” ArtPrize money is an investment, and the return on that investment could be huge. It’s already bringing in additional hotel, store and restaurant profits. Last year, there was even tacky “official” merchandise: hats and t-shirts for babies, drink bottles, and more. And that’s small change compared to its potential pay-out in years to come.
By contrast, a statement that was created by anti-“creative class” artists in the Detroit area a few years ago included this thought:
“We have seen what gentrification has done to other cities, displacing working class and poor people…In Detroit, it has faked progress, pretending to cure real issues of racism and poverty with fancy new buildings. Frankly we think it is boring and stupid. It is a cycle of destruction and reconstruction that could go on forever, but only benefits those who already have money. They say a rising tide lifts all boats, but that assumes that you have a boat.
Next time, Joe, please ask some harder questions.
Local Wage Theft Campaign kicks off this Tuesday in Grand Rapids
Wage Theft is a serious problem in the US, where workers are not regularly paid for the amount of hours they actually put in.
According to the Interfaith Worker Justice Center, “Wage Theft is the illegal underpayment or non-payment of workers’ wages. It affects millions of workers each year, often forcing them to choose between paying the rent or putting food on the table.”
Because of the growing awareness around Wage Theft, some communities have begun campaigns to both educate the public and get municipal governments to pass a Wage Theft ordinance. You can see which states and cities have adopted or are working to adopt such an ordinance across the country.
The Micah Center and the Michigan Organizing Project have been doing the ground work to organize a campaign against Wage Theft in Grand Rapids. With the support of Grand Rapids City Mayor George Heartwell, the local effort is being this Tuesday where the Micah Center will show a new documentary, which features local workers who have experienced Wage Theft.
The event will also let people know about how they can get involved in the Grand Rapids campaign. The event will be held on Tuesday, September 20 at Hope Reformed Church, located at 2010 Kalamazoo, SE, Grand Rapids. The event begins at 6:00PM.
For anyone who wants more information on the Grand Rapids Wage Theft Campaign and how they can get involved they should contact Jordan Bruxvoort, Associate Director of the Micah Center at: jordan.bruxvoort@gmail.com.
Food Charity or Food Justice: Part II
Last week we pointed out the problem with local journalists in their attempts to try to live off a fixed food budget as part of the Hunger Challenge Week in Grand Rapids.
We pointed out that their investigation should have focused on looking at the causes of hunger in West Michigan, instead of engaging in an exercise that, while well intentioned, did not actually look at addressing hunger.
Today, MLive ran a story about a local program that addresses hungry children, called Kids Food Basket. In that story, both the director of the organization, Bridget Clark Whitney, and board member Mary Ann Prisichenk both make statements that the organization is not interested in politics or the causes of poverty……..they just want to feed hungry kids.
Whitney is quoted as saying; “There are a variety of socioeconomic factors that come into play with kids and hunger, but … the bottom line is that kids need to get fed. What we say we will do — and we are doing — is attacking hunger.”
Attacking hunger is the agency’s catch phrase, which can be seen on its website over and over again. The agency acknowledges that hunger and poverty are a problem in the Grand Rapids area, citing the statistic that “36,860 children living in Kent County are food insecure.” The charity agency also noted that, “From 2000 to 2008, Grand Rapids had the largest spike in poverty among any US city at 8.9%.”
In the “why” section of their website the agency also states that nutrition is the basis of brain development and Childhood hunger is a national priority that must be addressed at the grassroots. Both of these statements are important, but it is the latter, which I think it is important to address.
First, let me just state upfront that the fact that Kids Food Basket feeds hungry children is important in that it does a form of triage work, where an immediate need is met. However, if our community is serious about attacking the problem of hunger, it is essential that we get the root of the causes of why 36,860 children in Kent County don’t have enough healthy food to eat.
Every year there are major food drives in this city. People through churches, businesses and non-profits donate food for the food bank system. Thousands of people volunteer at the soup kitchens and deliver meals to shut-ins and other vulnerable populations, along with the kind of work that Kids Food Basket does. These activities can help put a human face on hunger and often will make us feel good that we in some small way made a difference.
However, if we never get to the point of asking the question of why 36,860 children in Kent County don’t have enough to eat on a daily basis, then we are ultimately doing them a disservice. The number of children in poverty is clearly on the rise and there is no sign that this trend with change. In fact, it is likely that the number of children living in poverty and going hungry will increase, since at the local, state and federal level there are ongoing funding cuts for social programs and a drum beat from politicians on the need to implement further “austerity measures.”
If attacking hunger means that we just feed hungry children then we might as well just plan on doing this the rest of our lives and finding a whole lot more people to do it with us. If, however, we want to end hunger then we will have to look hard at both our economic system and who has wealth in this society. As Raj Ratel and many others in the food justice movement will tell you, the current food system and economic system are designed in such a way that lots of people will be malnourished.
We need for the people at the Kids Food Basket to keep feeding hungry children, but we also need for them and all the other agencies, which do food charity work, to begin to come to terms with the causes of childhood hunger. Once we have collectively wrapped our heads around those causes we can then develop a strategy to really attack hunger by eliminating it.
Some of this strategy might include challenging the existing system of food production in the US knows as agri-business. In this system food is grown as a commodity to be traded and not as a form of sustenance for all people.
One way to take on the agri-business system would be to have a real grassroots effort to alter federal funding it what is known as the Farm Bill. More importantly, we need a mass movement to take food production out of the hands of corporations and into the hands of regular people.
In order for these more systemic changes to take place we need to have a serious public conversation about hunger and food justice. If then, we are serious about eliminating hunger in our community we need all those who do the food charity work to support and endorse food justice work. Food justice work may not be as popular and it is in many ways work that is much more difficult to do. In fact, we can count on systems of power that will resist those efforts, but I for one think it is a much nobler goal to end hunger than to perpetuate its existence because we didn’t ask why people were hungry. As the great Brazilian Bishop Dom Helder Camera once said, “I brought food to the hungry and people called me a saint. I asked why people were hungry and people called me a communist.”
Cheney Book Tour Stops in Grand Rapids on Wednesday
Former Vice President Dick Cheney will be in Grand Rapids on Wednesday as part of his book tour.
The former VP, who justifies torture and other war crimes in his new book In My Time, will be at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel on Wednesday at 5:00PM. At this event Cheney’s daughter Liz will interview him about his book and his life as a politician.
There is no information yet as to whether the event will be open to the public or if it is a ticketed event, but you can count on lots of security.
Cheney has been confronted by anti-war activists during his book tour, especially those with the group Code Pink. In fact, Code Pink has lots of ideas about what to do with Cheney and his book.
The feminist anti-war group has a nice bookmark that you can download and stick inside Cheney’s book. The bookmark provides some good information on Cheney’s record of war crimes during his time as Vice President.
Code Pink is also encouraging people to go to their local bookstores and move Cheney’s book to the Crime Section of the store so that it is accurately categorized. Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin has a concise list of 10 reasons why his book should be moved to the Crime Section.
The anti-war group even put together a short “how to put Cheney’s book in the Crime Section” video. Something to consider the next time you’re at a book store.
Michigan House votes to overturn domestic partner benefits
Yesterday, the Michigan House voted 64 to 44 in favor of eliminating domestic partner benefits for Michigan’s public employees.
The vote is a blow to the LGBTQ community and to its allies. Michigan Messenger cites Emily Dievendorf, policy director of Equality Michigan in response to the vote.
“This session’s rash of hate-fueled legislation is broad and punishing. The extremists in the House are a tank rolling down Main Street, leaving no vulnerable community unthreatened. Their efforts, while clearly inspired by animosity toward the gay and transgender community, are expressed through such a blinding and irrational rage that it has no limits.”
House Bills 4770 & 4771 were introduced by West Michigan legislator Dave Agema. Agema not only has promoted anti-gay legislation, but legislation against workers, immigrants and racial minorities.
The recession is over – for lobbyists in Michigan
(This article is re-posted from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.)
It appears that the recession has ended, at least for Lansing lobbyists. They reported spending $19,664,879 in the first seven months of 2011. That figure is up by 11.6 percent compared to the first seven months of 2010, and it exceeds the spending pace of 2008, the record year for lobbying in Lansing, when reported spending totaled $19,599,000 in the January-through-July reporting period.
StudentsFirst, a California and D.C.-based ‘education reform’ organization, accounted for nearly half the spending increase and led all lobbyists’ spending at $951,000. Its spending included a $900,000 advertising campaign.
StudentsFirst recently made headlines in Michigan by hiring Rep. Tim Melton as a lobbyist. Melton is prohibited from lobbying his former legislative colleagues until December 31, 2012, when his Michigan House term would have expired.
Familiar names of multi-client lobbying firms occupy the next four spots on the spending list: Governmental Consultant Services, Inc (GCSI): $774,814; Kelley Cawthorne: $709,897; Karoub Associates: $460,454; and Wiener Associates: $326,644.
The Michigan Education Association, $324,197, and the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, $266,788, were the top spenders among individual Michigan-based interest groups.
Conspicuously absent from lobbying reports was any filing from the Detroit International Bridge Company. The DIBC has sponsored a seven-figure television advertising campaign of grassroots lobbying in opposition to the proposed New International Trade Crossing.
The Michigan Campaign Finance Network will report on the Detroit International Bridge Company’s campaign later this month.
Wining and Dining
Lobbyists reported spending $526,753 for food and beverages for lobbyable officials in the first seven months of 2011. Leading providers of consumable hospitality were: Kelley Cawthorne: $86,372; AT&T of Michigan, reporting under the name of Michigan Bell Telephone: $51,736; GCSI: $25,823; Michigan Licensed Beverage Association: $24,222; and Public Affairs Associates: $20,492.
Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville was the top beneficiary of the food and beverage hospitality, enjoying $2,985 worth of food and libations. That is more than $47 per day when the Senate was in session.
The leading member of the Free Lunch Club in the House was freshman Rep. Frank Foster of Pellston at $2,814. Nine more legislators enjoyed at least $1,000 in complimentary repast: Sen. Joe Hune: $1,903; Sen. Rebekah Warren: $1,801; Sen. Tory Rocca: $1,585; Rep. Harold Haugh: $1,562; former Rep. Tim Melton: $1,419; Rep. Aric Nesbitt: $1,280; Sen Mike Kowall: $1,099; Rep. Matt Huuki: $1,095; and Sen. Steve Bieda: $1,013.
It should be noted that lobbyists’ spending on food and drink doesn’t have to be reported unless it exceeds $55 in a month for a lobbyable official, or accumulates to more than $350 for the reporting period. Thus, there was certainly more food and drink consumed that did not have to be reported.
Travel and lodging provided by lobbyists does not have to be reported unless it exceeds $725. Financial transactions between lobbyists and lobbyable officials don’t have to be reported unless they exceed $1,100 in value.
“Lobbying disclosure in Michigan is pathetically weak,” said Rich Robinson of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. “A lobbyable official could sell a lobbyist a pencil for $1,000, and the State doesn’t even want to know about it.”
“Given the hardships the citizens of this state are enduring, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that they should know about every perquisite given to their elected representatives.”
All data cited in this report are from lobbying reports filed with the Michigan Department of State.
Who are the biggest political donors in Grand Rapids?
Radical Historian Howard Zinn used to say in America you either have organized people or organized money. It is debatable as to whether or not we have organized people in this area, but we certainly have organized money.
Organized money was given an edge on organized people when the US Supreme Court passed Citizen’s United vs the FEC, which granted unlimited campaign contributions. Corporations and other entities are breaking records of what they are donating and the Center for Responsible Politics is estimating that President Obama might raise more than a billion dollars in his re-election bid.
The Center for Responsible Politics also provides research tools so you can see who the biggest political donors are in your area. You can search by state, Congressional district or by zip code. Here is what we found out about who the major donors are in the Grand Rapids area.
In the 49503 zip code we find that the largest donors in the 2012 election cycle so far are: Peter Seechia $30,800; Helen DeVos $30,400, Richard DeVos $30,400, Dan DeVos $10,000 and Pam DeVos $10,000. The largest recipients of this money from the 49503 zip code are: the Republican National Committee $91,600, Justin Amash $36,000, the Republican Party of Michigan $20,000 and Randall Heckman $14,500.
From the 49504 zip code area the two largest donors are Susan and Michael Jandernoa, both who have contributed $30,800. Jandernoa is the CEO of the Perrigo Company. Their money has primarily gone to the Republican National Committee, $62,100.
In the 49506 zip code area the largest donors are: JC Huizenga $5,000, Pat Miles Jr. $5,000, Bill Lewis $2,500, Margaret & Paul Potter $2,500 each, Scott Brew $2,500, David and Nancy Kammeraad $2,500 each and James Nicholas $2,000. The largest recipients of money from the 49503 zip code are Justin Amash $13,100 and Barack Obama $10,950.
From the 49546 zip code area (East Grand Rapids) the largest donors are: Calvin College President Gaylen Byker $61,600, Kate Pew Walters $5,000, Attallah Amash $5,000, Marie Amash $5,000, Eric Larsen $5,000 and Marcy Larsen $2,500. The largest recipients from the 49546 zip code area are: National Republican Committee $63,100 and Justin Amash $26,970.
The largest donors from the 49512 zip code area are: John Kennedy (Autocam CEO) $43,300, Nancy Kennedy $15,000, JC Huizenga $12,000 and Keith Klopcic $5,000. The top recipient of money coming from the 49512 zip code are: Republican National Committee $30,800 and the Republican Party of Michigan $30,000.
There is data for money from the other zip codes in the Grand Rapids area, but the donation numbers are small in comparison to the zip codes already listed. However, this data should give you an idea of who the organized money is coming from and who it is going to from Grand Rapids.
Urban Foraging Workshop
Urban Foraging Workshop
10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 17
Garfield Park, Madison & Burton SE
Look for the Farmers’ Market Tents!
Our Kitchen Table and The Bloom Collective are sponsoring an Urban Foraging Workshop from 10 a.m. to noon this coming Saturday, Sept. 17, during the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market at Garfield Park. Just like the grocery stores have helped us forget that food comes from farms, cultivation of domestic crops has helped us forget that many of the native species we see around us (and label as weeds) once were a prize source of both food and medicine.
The Southeast Area Farmers’ Market has already held two presentations with two area master gardeners who shared which common plants growing in our yards, parkways and abandoned lots can be used as food. One of these presenters, OKT’s Yvonne Woodard, who is also the market master for this farmers’ market, will share again this Saturday. In addition, anyone who comes to the workshop with knowledge of foraging will be invited to share their skills with the rest of those attending.
The economic climate continues to push working class people into poverty. In addition, Gov. Snyder’s so-called “austerity” measures like the 48-month cap on welfare eligibility will push many of our neighbors who are already poor to the point of starvation. Did you know that on October 1, an estimated 40,000 Michigan residents will be cut from the welfare rolls by this measure? In addition, on average, each of these people support two children in thier households. In other words, an additional 80,00o Michigan children may soon be going hungry.
While organizations like Our Kitchen Table continue the good fight for food justice and food security in our urban neighborhoods, the fight will not be won in time. So, let’s learn how to grow and share our own food and take advantage of the free foods growing all around us.
The Michigan ACLU and Equality Michigan both sent out action alerts to people across the state to ask them to contact their State Legislators on House Bills HB 4770 and 4771.
Equality Michigan writes:
Anti-gay Republicans like Representative Dave Agema (Grandville) and Attorney General Bill Schuette have been trying to strip away health care benefits for gay and lesbian couples since February. The move would put more working families at risk, destroy the ability of our public service unions to bargain for health benefits, weaken Michigan’s public sector, and make our state even more hostile to gay citizens.
The Michigan ACLU believes “House Bills 4770 and 4771 would bar public employers from doing what they think is best for their employees — providing domestic partner healthcare benefits. In a brazen attack on collective bargaining agreements, the bills would also make these benefits a forbidden subject in all negotiations.”
The ACLU is also providing an online mechanism to allow people to contact their state legislators and ask them to vote NO on HB 4770 and 4771.
Staged Town Hall event with Snyder just a show
Last night WOOD TV 8 hosted a one-hour live broadcast with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.
There was an invited audience that the TV station said represented a cross section of the viewing audience of the NBC affiliate. WOOD TV described the selection process online, where people were asked to submit questions ahead of time for pre-approval.
These kinds of forums seem to be the rule of the day, where politicians and commercial media outlets don’t want unscripted and uncensored possibilities. The hour-long broadcast is posted online, so you can see for yourself how it looked and the process they followed.
WOOD TV’s political reporter Rick Albin moderated the event and he began by introducing elected officials that were in the audience. Albin then turned over the floor to Snyder to make some opening remarks before people asked questions. Snyder said he was there to listen and figure out ways to best serve the public, which he referred to ask customers. He also said the public “hired” him and that the future is all about us and we.
There were a total of 16 questions asked, 3 by Rick Albin, 3 via some form of social media and the other 10 by people in the TV studio.
The questions followed themes, such as jobs, education, taxes, health care and immigration. The first question was asked by an unemployed worker from Lowell who wanted to know what the Governor was going to do to get laid off and older people back to work. Snyder said that Michigan needed to create more demand to get our economy going, which didn’t really answer the man’s question. He then said that we need to innovative and look at ways to create jobs. He mentioned that there are some hospitals in the Michigan, which outsource their laundry to other states.
The CEO from an Executive search firm in Kalamazoo then asked about how the Governor was going to match talent pool with companies. Snyder said he was all about talent pools, not workforce development. He wants government to create incentives to match people with jobs based on their talent.
A man from Jackson asked what the Governor thought about Obama’s jobs proposal. Snyder said there were some good elements in the speech, because Michigan is doing some of the things the President mentioned. Snyder then went on to talk about Relentless Positive Action, which he says can make Michigan be a role model for the rest of the nation.
A Hudsonville student and a Northview School District Superintendent asked questions about education funding. Snyder said the problem is we are focusing on adults & money and not on kids. “Changing the tax structure is how we solve the education funding problem,” said Snyder. He also said we need to create best practices and reward incentives for schools. However, it seemed that both of these answers did not address either of the education questions.
The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce President told Snyder he was doing a good job. Snyder said thanks and then says the role of the government is not to create jobs, but provide a climate for businesses to create jobs. What about the function of government protecting the rights of citizens, particularly the most vulnerable in society?
There were people who also asked about job cuts, such as a Battle Creek police officer and a UAW member. In response to the police officer Snyder said. “we need to create demand, grow the private sector, which will allow us to get more funds to hire more public safety officers.”
When questioned about the film incentive program, Snyder said that is was a bad investment and was too costly. In contrast, the Governor said that the Pure Michigan campaign generates funds for the state.
Two different people from the studio audience asked about Snyder’s position on Right to Work, but in both cases Snyder said it was too divisive an issue and it was not on his agenda.
Rick Albin asked Snyder to address the issue of immigration, which Albin framed as controversial. Snyder said it is an issue the federal government must solve. Carlos Snachez, with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was concerned about an Arizona-style legislation in Michigan. Snyder said he didn’t support the proposed legislation.
At the very end of the show Rick Albin thanked the audience for their patience and at one point said, “I didn’t know what the questions were going to be.” This seems to contradict their own process, which said that everyone had to submit questions ahead of time fore approval.
Snyder agreed with Albin and said, “too often we get filtered information.” On the contrary, there was a great deal of filtering, but more importantly, the forum did not allow for any serious dialogue or for people to ask follow up questions. In many ways it seemed like nothing more than a show.
Covering the protest
WOOD TV, did come out after the forum to do a short story on those protesting, but only cited one person. WXMI 17 covered the channel 8 event, but did not mention the protest outside the event and the Grand Rapids Press only devoted on sentence to those demonstrating Snyder’s job cut proposal.
